Trump's Michigan mission

President Donald Trump is en route to battleground Michigan to tout his administration's push to revive domestic manufacturing — the latest opportunity for the White House to amp up its midterm messaging on the economy amid voters' persistent affordability concerns. But the lead-time for those investments runs counter to the cadences of contemporary politics. GM's expanded production in Michigan is scheduled to begin in 2027, and Stellantis' in 2028 and 2029. Trump's visit today underscores the difficulty he faces in selling the promise of the future to voters for whom his tariffs — plus the simmering war with Iran — have made everyday goods more expensive in the present. The state has also seen some job growth: 'As of June, overall employment in Michigan was up since January 2025, when Trump began his second term, by about 11,000 jobs. But that's a minuscule amount, about one-quarter of 1 percent, in a year and a half,' the Detroit Free Press' Todd Spangler notes. That's especially true in Michigan, typically the top U.S. trading partner for Canada, on which Trump said he would impose 50 percent tariffs on some goods starting next month.